To the Future and Beyond
by Hanny-Pete
Summary: When a mysterious young woman is sent to the crew claiming to be the saviour of the Pirate King, nobody knows what to think. But what started out as a curious mission soon becomes a race against time as the crew is catapulted into the future to save their captain. But why aren't the future crew members already saving him?
1. The Moon Falls

**_I'd like to dedicate this to the people who followed, reviewed or favourited my fanfiction 'Zoro's Special Day'. It was my first story and to all the people that took the time to remark on it, it honesty made my day and I'm so thankful._**

**_So this story is dedicated to all of you beautiful people;_**

**_May I do you all justice._**

* * *

A loud explosion rocked the deck of the Thousand Sunny. The crew were thrown, though none so much as Chopper, who was tossed from the balcony of the ship where he was fishing with Usopp, and tumbled, head over heels, into the ocean. Before anyone could blink or shout, a streak of green disappeared over the deck and retrieved the smallest crewmember from the harsh waves. A chain of hands appeared, and within a minute, the whole terrifying adventure was over and Chopper was laying on his back, panting.

"What the hell was that?" Sanji demanded as he looked out at the ocean, _no one has fired on us…_ Confused, he looked at the rest of his crew, who all looked bewildered and shocked.

"There's no one around…" Nami murmured before Franky cut in,  
"We were hit from above, we should check the deck for damage, especially if there's no external source. We'll work it out later, right now we need to make sure the Sunny is safe to sail."  
"Ahh, so it was a mystery bomb?" Luffy remarked rhetorically as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Ignoring their captain, the crew headed towards the grassy deck to check for damage, only to fall short at the sight before them.

A small crater had upended the grass, exposing the dirt and wood beneath. What was more unexpected was the visage of an unconscious young woman lying in the centre of it. Instantly, the crew moved towards her, circling, each trying to get a glimpse.  
"What a beauty~!" Sanji exclaimed as he began to noodle-dance. Chopper moved towards her cautiously, reaching for her wrist to check for a pulse. In an instant, the girl's eyes were open, hand closing around the doctor's wrist in a tight embrace. The crew were still as her steel coloured eyes narrowed on the reindeer before widening, as if in recognition, before her features reset into a composed position. Letting go of the doctor's hoof, she slowly sat up, hands instantly reaching for the black bandana that enclosed her head, re-securing it in place and subsequently hiding her hair.

The crew backed up a little, giving her some room as she made herself stand up, stumbling slightly, before gaining her footing. As Sanji had said, she was beautiful. Her skin was like porcelain, pale and perfect. Her steel coloured eyes were piercing yet reserved, observing and intelligent, she held an air of ingenuity about her, like she knew more about you than you did. Her body was lean and toned, muscles were evident in her exposed arms and shoulders, and her fierce demeanour spoke volumes of her strength.  
"So, you're a swordswoman?" Zoro asked, though the two swords strapped across her back in a large X answered the question easily enough. The girl said nothing, simply rotated until she was facing the green-haired man. Stepping into his personal space, she cocked her head, and not being a man to back down from a fight, physical or mental, Zoro merely stood his ground, stoic expression clinging to his face attempting to cover his surprise. When she raised her hand towards the swordsman, the crew sprung into action, each moving away and raising numerous weapons or fists ready for a fight, all except Sanji of course, who simply smoked his cigarette, watching in interest. The girl had frozen, hand suspended in the air towards Zoro's glowering face.

"Twenty–one." She said simply, lowering her hand.

"What?" Zoro asked, the crew remained at the ready but lowered their weapons as the immediate threat had passed, and curiosity took a hold of them.

"You're twenty-one." She repeated, as if it clarified the situation. The crew simply stared between the two looking dumbfounded.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Zoro demanded, his confusion was turned into irritation as he spoke to the woman, _who the hell does she think she is? And how does she know that?_ Zoro, however, would never convey the slight panic niggling at his mind, squishing it down with a forced façade of calm and cold.

"More importantly, Zoro-san, is how does she know this? Do you know her?" Robin inquired, but before Zoro could respond, the girl cut in,  
"No, he doesn't know me, but I know him," she turned to address Robin, "I know this, because it's obvious. Although his muscular definition is far beyond someone of his age, well, lets just say I know how the Roronoa's mature, so to me, it's obvious how old he is." Turning back to Zoro she repeated, "You're twenty-one."  
"So you've established." Zoro remarked casually, though he was intrigued to the knowledge of his family name. _Is she a distant relative?_

"Oi, sis, how'd you get here anyway? And who are you?" Franky remarked and the crew nodded their agreement on his line of questioning. The girl simply sighed, looking irritated.  
"My name is Luna, I was sent here by a friend of mine, Hebina."  
"Sent here?" Nami asked, her clima-tact completely useless now as it hung idly in her hand, like she'd forgotten it was there.

"Yes." She answered elusively, before continuing, "Considering I'm an unknown, you should be seeing me a threat, not standing there with no hope of blocking an attack." At the confused look on Nami's face the girl rolled her eyes, and in an instant she was in front of Nami, sword drawn and levelled at Nami's throat. The crew were shocked at her speed before they were galvanised into action, but the girl simply moved away, sheathing her weapon.

"If you don't want to die before your time, you should always be on guard, prepared for attack, no matter who you're facing." The crew simply stared at the girl before Brook spoke up,

"Ano, Luna-san, are you someone we should be ready to attack, to be on guard around? Oh, and can I see your panties?" Luna simply turned to Brook, a thoughtful expression on her face before she gave him a sly smile and a wink that sent him over the edge in a pool of his own blood. (Even though skeletons don't have blood. Skull joke, YO HO HO HO). The crew watched the girl, they were yet to sense a killing intent from her, but she may have just been an enemy that was better at hiding her true intentions than the people the Strawhats had come up against so far.

"I'm not a threat, well, not to any of you. I was just proving a point." Turning to Nami and seeing the shell-shocked face with wide eyes watching her every movement, Luna sighed, "Sorry… I can get carried away. More to the point, I need your help." Extending the invitation to everyone else on the ship, she turned slightly and gestured to the crew, "All of your help."  
"Why do you need our help?" Luffy asked, stepping forwards and addressing the girl with as much authority as a captain had.  
"I need your help to save the Pirate King." She said simply, face impassive as she met Luffy's gaze. At what she had said, the crew froze, confusion evident.  
"What do you mean, the Pirate King?" Usopp asked as Luffy declared that he was the only one who would become the new Pirate King. At Luffy's declaration, she smiled, startling the crew.  
"Exactly." The crew stared at her, taking in their expressions, Luna realised she'd made them more confused, and clarified.  
"I'm here to save you, Monkey D. Luffy."


	2. Portals in Time

**Does anyone know how to do those line break thingy's? I'm so bad with technology and this site succeeds in confusing me...**

**Thanks for any reviews :) and to those who have, ily 3**

**...**

"I'm sorry, you're what?" Nami asked, the crew alongside Luna had taken a seat in the galley as Sanji prepared a light meal and refreshing drinks to release his own tension and provide a distraction. Luna had simply asked for water and was sipping it daintily before replying with frustration straining her voice.

"For the fourth time, I was sent here to save your captain."  
"Sent here?" Robin inquired, she'd been quietly pondering what the young woman could be insinuating, but after hearing her specifically say 'sent' for the fourth time, as Luna had so eloquently put it, she knew it wasn't a slip of grammar.

"By Hebina."  
"You've mentioned her before. Who is she? And where exactly were you sent from?" Robin asked, knowing this new line of questioning would give the crew some more useful answers than the ones they had received thus far. Luna remained silent, observing Robin for a moment as she tried to formulate answers that wouldn't reveal too much. There was too much at stake.

"Hebina is a friend, you can trust her. As for where I was sent from, well, that doesn't really concern you, now does it."

"If you want us to trust you, to help you, we need information about you, we-"  
"No. You're wrong. You don't need to know anything about me. All you need to know is that Monkey D. Luffy, your captain, your saviour, is going to be executed by Marines. And I'm the only chance you have of saving him. So, you can either waste time by asking irrelevant questions, or you can do whatever you can to save the man you all admire. Choose."

The crew stayed silent, each member watching their visitor carefully as she cupped her glass in her hands and took a sip.  
"Okay, but if you're here to save me… Well, I don't need saving… I'm not even captured by the Marines! And even if I was, my crew would come get me and-"

"You're wrong. They won't save you. You'll order them not to and they'll hate themselves for it but they know you'd never forgive them, or yourself, if they got hurt for your sake. So they'll watch. They'll stand and they'll watch as you get your head sliced off." At this she gazed directly into Luffy's eyes, waiting patiently for his reaction as he thought.

"If that's what I decide then it's what I decide. I don't want my crew to get hurt because of me. If I died without them intervening, then I'd die without regrets."

"Would you still have no regrets if you were leaving a family behind?" Her gaze hardened as she focused on Luffy, a vicious air emanated from the young woman, and crew became on guard, ready for any hostile motion.

"You're speaking in present tense about the future. As if this is happening as we converse." Robin noted, and the crew looked at her, before their eyes trailed back to Luna.

"Indeed." She responded, eyes still on the captain before she eventually decided to continue, a look of frustration passed through her features before suddenly her hand was slammed down upon the table, her body rising as she yelled down the length of the room, "I WAS TOLD IT WOULDN'T MATTER! DOESN'T HE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU? HE'S YOUR CAPTAIN, YOUR NAKAMA, YOUR BEST FRIEND! WHY DO YOU NEED CONVINCING TO SAVE HIM?!" She lowered her face, shadows creeping across her forehead and eyes as her strong frame began to shake, "Why won't you help him?"

"Because I ordered them not to." Luffy stated simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "A captain's order is absolute."

"SCREW THE ORDER! Dammit…" Shaking her head gently she moved back, revealing a small crack and indentation in the table from the strength of her hand hitting it.

"I can't let you die, Luffy." She whispered, and the crew could see a lone tear trek down her cheek before she was able to hide it.

"Why would you put your crew through this? Can't you see how cruel and selfish you're being? You're making them watch you die… Your family is seeing this, your nakama, everyone that loves you… Why would you hurt them like this? Do you really want to follow Ace-san that badly?! Do you really care so little of yourself?! Do you not realise how important you are?! How loved you are?! What would this crew do without you?!" Her outburst left the crew speechless. Even Luffy's eyes were widened from Luna's outrage before he smiled softly.  
"I'd hope they'd carry on with their dreams." With that single, simple sentence, the crew's attention diverged from the form of the young shaking girl to their captain, before looking back to Luna.

"You're from the future." Nami stated obviously, "How far?"

Luna sighed, rubbing her fingers into her temples she sat back in her seat. Her fingers slowly pulling and stretching her skin before she dropped her hands to reply, obviously fighting an internal battle.

"If it's the only way then… Twenty-three years. I'm from twenty-three years into your future."

"The… fu-fu-future?!" Usopp stuttered, as several mouths fell open and even more eyes widened at the vast difference in their generations. Luna remained unfazed by their reactions and simply took another sip of her water, her hands still shaking, though only slightly.

"Correct. That's where I'm from. Or more precisely, when."  
"That's how you knew Zoro-san's age." Brook stated while nodding slightly, "Ano, Luna-san, but what can we do? We are simply from the present, we cannot alter the future so drastically. And we are certainly not strong enough to face enemies that are able to catch a future version of Luffy-san." Brook elaborated, Usopp nodded in agreement. Luna simply smiled softly before turning to address the skeleton.

"That is where things become fun." She said sadistically, "I told you already that Hebina sent me here. What you don't know is the how. She manipulates time." At the confused faces that looked ready to interrupt, she quickly elaborated, "She ate a Devil Fruit, the Jikan Jikan no mi, or the Time Time fruit. She can accelerate, decelerate, and open portals in time, as well as having the ability to slow a person's time. It can be hard to explain… She sent me here so I could return with the help we need."

"But we're not strong enou-"  
"If I told my crew not to save me, who do you think you are to do the opposite?" Luffy interrupted Brook, as he made to repeat his previous observation.

"… If I told you that, it could change the future."  
"Well, isn't that why you're here, sis, to change the future?" Franky inquired, he didn't like the idea of him standing around doing nothing while Luffy was being executed, and captain's future order or no, he couldn't imagine the crew obeying that particular request.

"Not like that. I said before, it can be hard to explain. I'm not here to change anything, other than this particular event. If I could get your assurance that you'd disobey the order and fight for your captain, or," turning, she addressed Luffy directly, "your promise to never give that order, then I could leave on my own and everything would be as it should. As it stands now, my uncle is probably lying in a pool of his own blood." After this she rose to her feet, and headed towards the door, "Hebina would have enough energy to reopen a time portal now, and enough to sustain all ten of us entering, if you decide to join me. If not, I'll save him myself."  
"I thought you said I commanded no one to attempt a rescue mission…" Luffy wondered aloud,  
"Not quite. You told your crew not to. I'm not exactly a crew member…"

"You called me your uncle… Who am I to you, and who are you to me?" Luna continued to face the doorway in silence, Luffy's voice dancing around her as she attempted to keep a professional demeanour.

"You're my uncle. You're my father's best friend, his brother in arms. You're the man that helped raise me. Who helped give life to my closest, and most trusted friend. You're my family. Someone I love and admire. You're the reason I'll set out to sea one day." Turning towards Luffy and into the silence of the crew, tears in her eyes, she continued, "And me to you? Well, I can't really answer that. I can't tell you what I mean to you, Luffy, all I can tell you is that I would rather die on my way to save you than stand by my parents side and watch someone so important to me punished like the brute he never was." Silence was all that followed Luna's speech as her words sunk into the crew, and unknowingly, voiced their own thoughts and feelings. "Right now, I have a friend literally distorting the fabric of the universe to bring me home, along with you all. You can come if you decide you'd rather face your captain's wrath when he survives this whole ordeal, or if you'd rather stay… Well, it's up to you." With that the girl turned, and left, legging it over the railing and landing lightly on the deck, the galley door swinging closed on the image, and the crew simply stared.

Zoro was the first to rise, ambling towards the door at his usual pace.  
"Zoro, where are you-"

"Captain, you know I'd follow you to the end of the world and back. Hell, I follow every order you give me, no matter how foolish, and impossible it is. I'll follow it. I'll never undermine your authority or imply you to be incompetent. But to sit back and watch you die? That is one order I cannot follow. And if walking out now to save your life results in you hating me, or kicking me off this ship for mutiny, well, at least I'll know you're alive in the future, and that I did everything I could to ensure your life doesn't end when it isn't supposed to. Forgive me, captain, but my mind is made up." With that, he left the galley.

Luffy was stunned as he watched his first mate's retreating back. The resounding screech of chairs on wood announced the remaining crewmembers intention to leave, and without a word, they followed Zoro and Luna onto the grassy deck of the Sunny, mentally preparing themselves for battle.


	3. Paradox in a Box

**So this chapter name doesn't have a whole lot to do with the story, but it rhymed and I couldn't help myself.**

**...**

Luffy stood alone in the galley in shock. His crew had intentionally broken an order he would give as the captain, and he was touched. They were going out there to risk their lives, just in an attempt to save him. They knew the future held much harder enemies than the ones they fought, and yet they would go there anyway, fearless, because he was in danger. Because he needed them. Whether he'd admit it or not.

Luffy felt disgusted in himself as a sense of pride overtook him. He was proud of them. So impossibly proud. He felt his heart rise in his chest, only to be squashed down by his brain reminding him of the fact that if they were to go out there and fight, they could get hurt. They could die. And all because of him.

He had a decision to make. He could let his nakama go into the future, alone, and potentially die. Or, he could go with them and protect them, because he knew he'd never change their minds.

"Yosh! We're going to the future."

**...**

Once the crew and captain had assembled on the deck behind Luna, they noticed a slight distortion in the air before them. Before Chopper could ask what was happening, a huge sucking wind whipped around them, throwing their hair and clothes about their person. The air distorted more, turning into a whirling space, separating itself from the rest of the surrounding air by turning into a watery looking substance, and becoming an off-yellow colour. The crew stared, amazed as the whirlpool pulled apart in the centre, widening more so, before a young familiar looking teen with long black hair, sparkling blue eyes and a mischievous smile on her face walked through. As her bare feet touched the grassy deck of the ship, she sighed, eyes closed, before re-opening them to address Luna with a curt nod. At this, Luna marched forwards, to the edge of the portal before stopping.  
"I'm not going to end up several feet in the air like last time?" She asked coolly. To her credit, the teen didn't exactly wince at the cold tone of the elder girl, she simply chuckled and grinned wider.

"Nope, on the beach. Mizu-kun and Mizula-chan are there… I couldn't stop her following…" She trailed off sheepishly. Luna groaned and walked through the portal, and young girl faced the crew to address them.

At this point, the entire crew, aside from the captain, had no doubt in their mind as to who this girl was related to.  
"So, you're all coming to help then?" though the crew knew she was asking rhetorically. She spoke like it was a fact, like there was no doubt in her mind that the crew were coming to save their captain.

"The journey back, or is it forwards…? Anyway, the journey is a safe one, though you might feel a little light headed and queasy. I promise that's normal for first-timers. If you'll follow me?" And with that she turned to the portal and walked in.

The crew were somewhat apprehensive, but when Robin walked forwards, the rest of the crew followed, some more reluctant than others, but they followed all the same, listening to Usopp's new development of the I-can-not-go-into-this-portal disease and Chopper's hurried cry for a doctor.

Stepping into the portal did not feel like what anyone was expecting. The instant they stepped through it felt as if someone had dropped freezing water onto them and then pulled the ground out from underneath their feet. The sensation of falling didn't last long before the crew stepped onto the hard, yet soft ground of a sandy beach. Nami, Usopp and Brook all dropped the their knees, Nami holding her stomach, Usopp doubled over on his hands and knees, and Brook holding himself up with his knees and head, arms hanging boneless, as they each tried to recover from the travel. The rest of the crew didn't fare much better, but were either too surprised by what was in front of them, or much too good at disguising their emotions and feelings to show any symptoms.

"I hope Hebi-chan wasn't too rough on you all." Came the deep voice of a young man. By Robin's speculative gaze, she noted the strong physique and matured features, reminding her of another of her own nakama. This boy, she estimated, could not be older than sixteen, and although he reminded her physically of Zoro, his wide blue eyes and white hair were incredibly different. Robin simply nodded to the boy, in lieu of answering, and she watched as he chuckled softly. Expanding her gaze, Robin noticed Luna and Hebina chatting softly to themselves. Turning her head, she caught the sight of a woman who looked similar to the young boy, except her white hair fell to her hips. The woman was impossibly breathtaking. Dissimilar to Hancock, who was beautiful in her strength and cold exterior, this woman was beautiful in her air of innocence and warm demeanour. When she noticed Robin's gaze, she gave a slight smile, before turning to address the newcomers.

"Thank you all for coming. My name is Mizula, this is Mizuki, my son." The white haired boy gave a two-fingered salute and took a few short steps to stand beside his mother.

"We don't have a lot of time. The execution is taking place in the town square when the clock chimes two. Marines like to have a long lunch the fat little sh-"  
"Enough." Mizula interrupted, and the boy fell silent instantly. "Like Mizu said, we don't have a lot of time. Here, put these on." She stepped forwards and for the first time the crew noticed the nine black cloaks of varying sizes and shapes that she'd been carrying.

"Clearly you weren't expecting us to say no." Nami said with a smile as she took the soft material from the woman and wrapped it around her shoulders. The warm material melted into the shape of the navigator's body and she sighed at the quality of the garment.

"Do not take these off, they're for your safety. One of each of you in this time is more than enough trouble."  
"Excuse me mademoiselle, but doesn't our decision to stand and fight change the future enough? Shouldn't our future selves be doing the same?"

"I'll explain," Hebina interrupted, and turning to Sanji, she began to answer his question. "In theory, yes. Every version of you will stand and fight this battle, but reality often differs from the theoretical. It's my understanding that there will always be this version of yourselves, the version that chose to come to the future and fight, and also the version that never met us and never had the opportunity to. It's called a Paradox. It's complex and hard to understand, and even if I went into all the scientific detail about the structure and whatnot, you still wouldn't really understand how it works in relation to time… Although, perhaps this may help, for example, if someone, lets say Usopp, were to say they were a compulsive liar, do you believe them? It's kind of about contradictions." Usopp's small protest of 'Hey!' was ignored as the crew tried to understand Hebina's explanation, and at the same time not get distracted by the awe they felt by her obvious intellectual immensity.

"Right…" Franky muttered as he attempted to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Ah, so it's a mystery portal."  
"SHE JUST EXPLAINED IT, IT'S NOT A MYSTERY!" Nami yelled as she slammed Luffy upside the head. The soft laughter of the dark-haired girl caught the crew's attention and she smiled widely at them.  
"Now that you understand that your actions won't necessarily impact the versions of you in this time, can we head out?" The crew simply nodded, some with sharkish grins, evil glints in their eyes, or clenched fist.

As they headed into battle they had one simple thought on their minds, 'Save Luffy.' They would do anything to achieve this. Even if it meant risking their own lives.


	4. Cloaks and Mysteries

**Huge thanks to the person that told me to check my story! Didn't realise it went all wonky..**

** ...**

It was a short walk to the edge of the town and on the way the crew discovered that Mizula was a future member of their crew, and that was all Luffy needed to hear to trust the woman irrevocably. What interested the crew more was how largely packed with people the small town was.  
"Why's it so busy?" Usopp asked as the Strawhat crew looked through the throngs of people.  
"Many people like a massacre." Mizula replied simply, "They're all expecting Luffy-san's crew to stand and fight against this injustice. You'll find this town has a lot of friends your crew made along the way. And each of them is ready for a fight."

"That's sick…" Nami whispered, her eyes roaming the cramped streets before she noticed something she hadn't a moment ago, "Why are most in cloaks?" Nami then looked down at herself, fingering the soft material Mizula had donned them with.

"Like I said, many of these people are friends your crew has made, meaning many will be other pirates. They're hiding themselves for their own safety."  
"Are we going to meet our future selves?" Robin asked calmly, uninterested in the clothing articles the townspeople wore.

"Perhaps… Though I do hope not. It would be most awkward at best." Mizula answered before she nodded to herself, "We should move closer, we can't help him from back here."

So the crew, accompanied by Luna, Hebina, Mizuki and Mizula headed towards the gallows in the middle of the town square. As the crew weaved through the people, with soft 'excuse me' and 'pardons' they noticed a large fort in the distance. As they moved closer it became more focused. It rose at least twenty feet into the air with a rickety staircase leading to the platform. At the bottom step stood two military guards, and looking up towards the sky, the crew could see the faint outline of the executioners. Ironically, the sun bathed them in an ethereal light, making them look like angelic saviours.

"Now what?" Zoro asked. He'd never voice it aloud, but this felt wrong to him. He shouldn't be seeing this. Shouldn't be seeing his captain crouched on the execution platform. Not in any time period. He was the first mate, he should have protected him. He'd failed in that, but he wouldn't fail again.  
"Now… we come up with a plan…" Mizula muttered, her voice becoming more faint as she progressed through the sentence.

"WHAT? You don't have a plan?!" Nami yelled, attracting the attention of nearby spectators and the guards before Mizuki grabbed the young woman and dragged her away slightly.  
"Are you trying to get us all killed?" He hissed, but Nami barely noticed. She was a woman who was obsessed with the way she looked, and right now, the way this young man looked, chiselled muscle and sparkling yet fierce eyes, was far too distracting for her. He smelt of salt water and steel. 'Zoro?' she thought to herself, she always thought Zoro smelt like that... Weird… Coming to her senses the mikan haired woman pushed the young man away and forced down her blush.

"What the hell?" She hissed.

"He's right, you were reckless. Don't be fooled, in this time, you'll be killed in an instant. Don't make that mistake again." Luna stated coldly, before turning back towards the platform.

"We could storm the place?" Franky suggested.

"No, we need to be tactical." Sanji disagreed, lighting a fresh cigarette, he took his time in taking a drag before continuing, "We need a way to get in quick, disable the executioners, and get out even faster. An aerial attack perhaps, and a distraction…" He trailed off thinking.  
"I agree-" But Mizula was unable to explain why she agreed with Sanji before a rough cloaked hand reached out and grabbed her arm, dragging her against a tall, broad body.

The crew sprung into action, planning to kick and slash the man to pieces, but when Mizula motioned for them to remain clam, they stopped.

"What are you doing here?" The hooded man asked, his voice was rough and low making his words difficult to hear. Mizula ripped her arm from his grasp. Before turning on him with a glare.  
"Saving Luffy-san's life," she hissed back, just as viciously if not more so, "Something that you should be doing I might add." This confused the crew, and they each craned their necks to get a glimpse of the mystery man's face but to no avail.

"Get out of here Mizu, I'll take care of this."  
"You plan to take on hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of marines on your own? You're barking if you think that I-"  
"Now, Mizu. Leave." With that he turned to leave, taking a few steps before Mizula huffed and pouted, marching forwards she called,  
"Like HELL, Roronoa. Get your ass back here and help us because none of us, none, are going to leave here when Luffy-san needs us. Quit being a coward, it's unbecoming of you." The crew were stunned quiet.

"Roronoa?" Sanji whispered as the man turned back towards the woman.

"If you don't leave, you'll all die."  
"Then I'll die fighting. With or without you."

If the crew were able to focus on anything other than the scene before them, they would have noticed the small army that appeared behind the mysterious and supposed Roronoa. They would have noticed the eerie silence of the crowds around them, who had each turned to watch. And they would have noticed the ever-present ticking of the communal town clock and the reducing deadline until their captain's execution.


	5. And so it Begins

"Dear, dear, what an annoying time to have a lover's spat. Please, calm yourselves." A platinum blonde woman remarked as she sauntered to the front of the circle that had been formed around both parties. Placing a perfectly manicured hand on her bulbous hips, she cocked her leg and flipped her hair. Hearts radiated from Sanji's eyes as he clasped his hands to the side.

"Beautiful~!"  
"Shut up." Turning her gaze towards Mizula she tutted before grinning maliciously, "Oi, you, Marine, arrest her. NOW." The marine in question looked the woman before his eyes darted to Mizula and back again,

"B-but Admiral Kazu, she hasn't done anything… What would we arrest her un-"  
"Didn't you hear you incapable moron? She was planning to start an uprising to save our foolish captive. If you don't kill her, I will."  
"But you said arrest?!"

"And now I say decapitate."  
The stuttering marine nodded, raising a shaking hand holding his katana and stepped towards the Mizula.

Luffy's eyes widened and he moved forwards a step, reaching his arm backwards ready to knock the guy out but was stopped when the cloaked man chuckled.  
"You sure you wanna do that?" His gruff voice cut through the silence and the marine looked ready to relieve himself, his shaking became so intense as he looked back to Admiral Kazu who simply nodded, commanding him onwards.

The hooded man chuckled further before his hand disappeared and reappeared from inside his cloak, and in an instant, the marine's sword was shattered in tiny pieces on the ground, soon followed by the marine as he fainted. The hooded man grabbed a corner of his cloak and tore it off, letting it fall gracefully to the ground.

The surrounding spectators either gasped in shock or fell extremely silent at what they saw, even the Admiral took a small step back, muttering about demons and monsters. The crew however, were stunned silent, mouths dropping open, eyes widening, and smirks gracing lips. The man indeed was as Mizula had said, he was Roronoa, Roronoa Zoro to be precise, his cropped green hair unmistakable, and his age speckled it with white above the his ears. His right arm was tattooed with a sleeve depicting intricate swirls and waves, whilst his left hand, still holding his katana slightly away from himself, held a cross on his mid-forearm. Robin smiled, remembering the crew's plan back in Alabasta and the symbolism the X created. 'He truly loves his crew' she thought to herself.

"If you're here, then where are your crew?" Admiral Kazu asked sceptically, looking around frantically for the other members.

"If they're smart, they're away from here," He grinned sadistically, "But then again, they're not very smart."  
"Look who's talking you damn Marimo." Came a voice from another hooded figure.  
"Get lost, you're not welcome."

"My captain's execution too ya know, I can-"  
"NO! NO YOU CAN'T! YOU'LL ALL DIE HERE!" Admiral Kazu yelled as if she was having a tantrum, slamming her heeled foot into the ground until she grounded her heel into a flat shoe before stomping away and yelling at the surrounding marines to kill the crew with the captain and get this business over and done with.

The surrounding marines attempted to comply but their stuttering and shaking forms held little to be feared. They might outnumber the crew, but they didn't strike fear into anyone's hearts, not even the fearful Usopp.

"This damn shitty mess you've gotten us into you damn shitty bastard. We were supposed to be subtle, sneaky, do you not understand anything?" The hooded man the crew had decided was Sanji muttered under his breath as he moved to stand beside Zoro's elder self.

"What do we do?" Nami asked with wide eyes as she watched the inevitable scene that was about to take place before her.

"You watch." Came Mizuki's voice, and Nami looked beside her to see the man looking towards Zoro as he drew a second blade and Sanji stretching his arms, still cloaked but with his hood removed.

"Watch? Shouldn't we help out the future-bros?"

"No, they don't need help. It may have been a bit of a challenge with just mum and dad, but now that uncle Sanji is here, they'll be fine. Don't worry, just wa-"  
"DAD?! What do you mean… dad?" Zoro's outburst caught the plaza's attention, and the beginning of the fight was interrupted by all eyes turning to the young crew, the elder Zoro and Sanji looked on with wide eyes before Zoro turned and glared at Luna and Hebina, muttering a "We'll talk about this later." Before turning back towards his enemies.

"Oh… Didn't you… Oh! Opps…" He chuckled, "My bad, sorry about that." Rubbing a hand awkwardly through his hair, Robin smiled at the very Zoro gesture, before deciding to defend the boy.  
"It doesn't matter, what matters is Luffy-san. The clock, we only have a few minutes left." All eyes moved to the clock as they read the time to be 1:58pm.

"Then we're right on time." Zoro's future self declared with a grin as he sharpened his swords on each other. They marines before him gulped at the action as he charged forwards, arms moving in a gracious sweeping movement before a green light swept half the marines up in a ferocious gust of wind before littering their unconscious and torn bodies onto the plaza square and the unsuspecting bystanders.

"Whoa…" Chopper whispered, and just when he thought Zoro couldn't get any cooler.

"Oi, don't take them all you shitty Marimo!" Sanji yelled as his cloaked figure crouched slightly and disappeared from view, leaving a cracked pavement where he once sttod and the visage of various bodies being flung into the air along with the ground cracking and shaking at the immense power of his attacks.

In mere minutes, the rookie marines who had stood before the two men under Admiral Kazu's orders were all unconscious and injured, some more gravely than others, but each to the point that they were incapacitated, leaving the plaza empty of adversaries to overcome.

Sanji landed beside Zoro, a triumphant grin on his face before he turned to the man and they eyed each other off, before giving a nod at the work they'd done.

"Looks like we both got half. Maybe you'll win next time." Sanji said with a chuckle while Zoro growled at the man.

"Is… Is it over?" Nami asked quietly, but the loud chiming of the town's bell announced the arrival of the execution time, and with a wide devilish grin, Admiral Kazu lowered her hand and screamed at the top of her lungs,

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"


	6. Rain and Fire

**AHHH! I'm sorry about not updating, I went on a holiday. But I thought about it the whole time and updated the second I got home. It's extra long just because I was a slacker.**

**...**

The plaza was galvanised into action as the sweeping blade began its decent on the captain's neck. Men and women fought each other as well as the marines as they attempted to cause a distraction that would somehow aid the crew. Zoro and Sanji's future selves looked to each other in shock, remembering the all too similar events of Loguetown, but knowing there would be no lightning strikes to save the day like last time. Their captain would die.

Without any notice, the platform shuddered and shook, forcing the executioners to stumble over themselves and missing their captives neck.

"Hurry up already!" Mizula cried as eyes turned to her. Her hair was dancing around her frame and a long intricate tattoo similar to Zoro's own sleeve appeared on her arm, which was outstretched before her. The moisture in the air condensed and shot out like the knock-up stream, smashing against the wooden legs of the gallows and sending it crumbling to the ground.

"You control water?" Luffy asked softly, watching awed as the woman rotated her arm and the waves slamming against the gallows changed in ferocity and shape. "There's no Devil Fruit that can do that…" He muttered as the crew watched her in confusion.  
"She didn't eat a devil fruit. She's the Queen of the Ocean. She controls it, just like Poseidon, the ancient God." The crew noticed that whilst Mizuki had been explaining, he'd also withdrawn two swords and stood in a defensive position near Nami, whilst Hebina and Luna had moved to strategic positions around the group to provide a stronger defence.

"What are you doing? We're meant to be helping, not standing around." Zoro remarked, he was getting more annoyed as his patience dwindled.  
"It's dangerous…" Luna said quietly, spearing him with a glance before her eyes widened suddenly and she turned, dodging to the side and parrying a strike with a thin blade she'd drawn. Zoro blinked, he had barely seen her move, let alone unsheathe her blade and block the enemy attack, and he had Observation Haki, '_She's quick'_.

"Intriguing." The man smirked with rotting teeth as his arm began to tremble under the force of the block and the weight of his oversized axe.  
"Not good enough." Luna muttered, as a line of blood split on her cheek, disappearing back to her hairline. Blood started to rivulet down her face as her ever-present bandana fell from its place, revealing long grass green locks that fell to her waist. Zoro's eyes widened as he stared at her hair, paralysed by shock. This journey to the future was making the usually stoic man confused and a little bit frightened…

"As Roronoa's prodigy, I'd expect better." The man chuckled as he withdrew his axe and retreated a few steps, readying to strike again.

"Nitoru." The girl muttered as she withdrew a second blade and crouched low. And in an instant she was gone, several bodies falling to the ground in her wake.

A large crashing sound drew the crew's attention to the platform as it crumbled under the force of Mizula's waves. The woman lowered her arm, face looking cold and determined, as she took a step forwards. Water sprayed across the plaza, dampening the ground and creating more chaos to the surrounding battles as water splashed up with every step and body.

"We should fight." Zoro said simply, walking forwards through the gap Luna had left when she'd disappeared to fight. Sanji nodded and followed the swordsman, and Luffy behind him, not one to let his nakama fight his battles for him. Nami withdrew her clima-tact and turned her attention to Mizuki, who was still fending off enemies beside her.  
"Does your mother gain more strength when she's surrounded by water?"

he defended a harsh slash and brought his own sword down, disarming his opponent before kicking him harshly in the gut and sending him careening across the ground, before he turned to Nami, flicking sweat out of his eyes.  
"Yes, she does. Why do you ask?" He watched the theif's mouth twitched into a satisfied smirk, before he noticed the clima-tact and grinned himself, before turning back to the battle.  
"Cool Ball." Nami cried, twirling her clima-tact like a marching baton as she sent balls of cool air into the sky, planning on creating the wildest storm the world had ever seen.

Robin watched Nami create havoc from the corner of her eyes, and with a smile, she crossed her arms over her chest.  
"Gigantesco Mano." Robin called as a pair of giant legs grew from the ground, trampling enemies.

"Chopper-san," Hebina said softly, kneeling down near the small reindeer as he looked around himself fearfully, "You need to stay out of trouble, the doctor can't be hurt, he's most important, he's needed to heal. You can't heal people if you're hurt or dead. You need to get away from here."  
"But I can fight too!" Chopper remarked, his eyes hardening as he began his transformation, but Hebina's hand on his shoulder stopped him,  
"I know you can Chopper-san, and you're quite good at it. But right now, what your crew needs isn't more destructive power, they're going to need a doctor when this is over. Do you understand?" Chopper nodded slowly and lowered his head, feeling a little useless as his nakama fought around him. Franky's cry of 'Strong Right' did nothing but make the young doctor feel worse.  
"Usopp! Get him and yourself out of here, we can't allow deaths from any of you. Mizu-kun and I will protect the rest, but right now, you're not doing a lot to help."  
"But I'm Usopp! Brave warrior of the-"  
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR JOKES!" at her outburst, Sanji's cloaked self landed beside her and placed his right gloved hand onto her back.  
"Calm down Hebina, I'll take care of them." He rose to his full height, which was quite a lot taller then the present crewmembers were used to, and removed his cloak, only for Nami to gasp at what she saw.  
"Sanji-kun, your hand… It's…" She trailed off as her eyes found their way to the man's face, his features were soft and he gave her a goofy smile.

"Gone?" He finished what she was unable to, before he looked at the stump at the end of his left arm forlornly. "But that's the thing Nami-san, some things are worth more than a hand."  
"But your cooking. Your hands are your pride. What could be more important than that..?" The look he gave to Nami had her insides boiling and her face flushing red. He looked at her intensely, and the cries of battle faded into the distance as she looked back at him. It felt like an eternity had passed between them before he broke his gaze.  
"You are." And with that he swept Chopper up into his arms and yelled at Usopp to stick close, as he kicked his way through the throngs of people to find safety for her nakama. Nami watched his back until he disappeared into the scene of battle, and only then did she release the breath she was unaware she was holding.

"Wow." She whispered, before shaking herself free of his smouldering gaze and attempting to concentrate on the battle before her. The soft laughter of Robin and Mizuki was all she heard before thunder clapped in the sky and rain began pouring down on the plaza

**…**

"Usopp, from here you can fire your shots and avoid trouble. You're future self is on the other side of the plaza, so don't worry if people fall when you didn't fire. Chopper, watch his back, people will come up here when they realise where he is. And for goodness sake, stop crying. My hand is not your fault." With that he disappeared, using his Sky Walk to launch himself back into the fray.

"Well Chopper, it's time that the brave captain Usopp showed these losers just why they shouldn't mess with his precious crew!" Drawing back his Kuro Kabato he set sights on his target and releasing an array of Pop Greens in quick succession.

**…**

"We have to move to the tower too! We can't keep fighting here!" Sanji cried as he slammed another enemy with his tremendous kicks, and feeling somewhat envious of the power his future self beheld.

"Well what do you propose we do, love-cook, we're fighting marine captains and vice admirals here!" Zoro yelled back in retaliation as he sliced an aerial wave through the plaza and taking out few enemies, due to the overwhelming ability of the marine's they stumbled into, most were able to dodge or stand back up to fight.

Luffy took a few steps forwards, head lowered, before he released an immense wave of Conqueror's Haki, though despite the incredible force their young captain normally had, it was clear the Demon Trio were no match for the future.

"They're closing in on us!" Sanji yelled as he watched the devilish grins advance. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji's attacks seemed to be proving useless, until suddenly the whites of their enemies eyes and their gasping breaths overtook them, and they crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from holes in their chests.

"Wh-What's going on?" Sanji muttered, noticing the lack of oxygen the fallen marines were inhaling, _'They're dead…' _He thought to himself idly.

"Over there!" Luffy cried, and the swordsman and chef looked up to where he was pointing, atop a roof where a lone sniper with a rifle lay. He rose upwards with a grin, before giving a small wave.  
"Usopp?" Zoro whispered, the man's figure looked far too strong to be their cowardly sniper, yet it couldn't be anyone else. They watched as the man raised his rifle once more, and at the sound of bodies hitting the ground, they turned to see the marines at their feet. _'Damn, we were saved by Usopp' _Zoro thought to himself, vexed at his weakness against the enemies they'd one day encounter.  
Turning back to their enemies, they were shocked to find that more had fallen, before a body dropped from the sky, crouched.  
"You!" Zoro cried, as the Luna slowly rose from her position. She glanced over her shoulder, her face irritated, before she faced her enemies once more.  
"Baka." She muttered, before her right leg slid back into a fighting stance. Her breathing was laboured, and blood soaked the back of her white off the shoulder shirt, staining the fabric and mixing horridly with the colour of her corset.

"Oi, should you still be fighting?" Zoro asked, concern coating her voice.

"Che, don't you remember? I'd rather die on my way to save him than stand around doing nothing. Besides, you're not my father, you can't tell me what to do."

"You're right. He's not your father. I am." All eyes turned to the future Zoro who had arrived without anyone noticing. The battle seemed to fade into the distance of firing shots, claps of thunder, and waves slamming people into buildings.

"You shouldn't be here. Go home."  
"Maybe you should of said you'd stand up and fight instead of making me think-"  
"If I had told you, you would have wanted to help."  
"Well, not telling me didn't do much good, did it? I'm still here."  
"Luna, you're twenty, you have a life ahead of you. You shouldn't be risking it here."  
"This is my life!" and with that she turned on her heel and ran into the copious amounts of enemies and out of sight. They watched as Zoro closed his eye and sighed, before rubbing a hand against his shoulders and muttering about 'damned arthritis' before looking at the trio before him.  
"We need to get to Luffy. I'll cut a path, you run." And with that the man raised his single sword and slashed it downwards, splitting the earth and sending a shockwave large enough to send the various surrounding people into unconsciousness.

With a path momentarily cleared, the trio ran forwards, followed by Zoro's own future self who appeared before, and behind them, slashing apart anyone who got in their way and allowing the process to become seamless and quick.

"Since when do our plans go the right way?" Sanji muttered as he watched Zoro appear beside him and knock out a woman with the hilt of his sword. Sanji grunted, wanting to fight the man, but he suppressed his urge for later, when he had time to do it.

"Oi, Zoro, need a hand?" A voice called from above, and the four looked up to see Sanji hovering in the air, striking down with his legs to stay afloat.

"Nah, get lost shit-cook." The man simply chuckled before he fell towards them, landing on the ground harsh enough to create a small crater. Turning, he began to run beside the future swordsman.

"You run front, I'll take back?" he asked.

"Do whatever you want, baka." And with that, the blonde haired man took up his position at the back of the group.

With the help of the future Zoro and Sanji, they were able to easily reach the crumbling execution platform and disable the guards with a quick slash of Zoro's swords.

"Luffy!" Sanji yelled, scanning the area desperately in search of their elusive captain. "LUFFY!"

"Over there." Zoro muttered before running towards a large pile of broken wood that had succumbed to Mizula's relentless waves.

"Digging through the pile they eventually found the twisted form of their rubbery captain. Blood spilt out onto the cobblestones as his still form sent deathly shivers down the spines of the five surrounding them.

"No way." Zoro whispered, as he watched his future self approach the body. "He can't be…"  
"Maybe they nicked an artery when Mizu crashed the tower." Was all the future Zoro said as he cleared more debris off his captain.

"Or, perhaps it's the combination of the water he's lying in and the seastone he's wrapped in…" Sanji muttered like the two were idiots as he withdrew his captain from the water and watched him cough violently.

"Shitty chef."  
"Moronic Marimo." And with that, Zoro withdrew a small blade from the boot of his shoe and flicking his wrist, the seastone chains and handcuffs fell with a splash, landing hard on the plaza floor.

Moments passed and the members present stood in anticipation, waiting for their captain to say something. Suddenly, the man jumped up, arms raised in the air, fists clenched, and face turning towards the sky.

"Yosh! Let's go!" turning to his present and past nakama, he smiled from ear to ear, showing his brilliant teeth and laughing his signature laugh.

With a giant explosion that rocked the island, and a shadow that seemed to block out the sun, the six crew members turned to a figure that towered over them, as he laughed. As the shadowed figure stepped towards them, his features became more defined, revealing their new adversary.

The hardened, yet aged face of Fleet Admiral Akainu stood before them, a masochistic grin on his face as lava exploded around him.


	7. Magma and Bone

**This chapter is a bit shorter, but I'll update again tomorrow.**

**...**

"Akainu, sir, I apologise for my incompetence. Please, kill me." Akainu simply stared at admiral Kazu with a demeaning expression on his aged face before turning towards the six people before him.

"Damn, not him." Sanji muttered to himself as he took a few step forwards to position himself on Luffy's left, whilst Zoro stood on Luffy's right.

"I'll bring him down." Luffy declared, cracking his knuckles and infusing his arms and fists with Armament Haki and engaging his second gear. The man simply sighed as he clutched his gloved hand into a tight fist, concentrating his magma into his hand.

"Akainu…" Luffy whispered, as his two young nakama looked at his shell-shocked face.

"Ah shit." Sanji's future self muttered as he looked back at his young captain, before glancing at his present one. "He's going to freak out so hard…" He added, running his lone hand through his golden locks, before addressing Zoro.

"Oi, shithead, we've gotta get him out of here before he does something-" Sanji's statement was cut off by a screaming cry as the young Luffy ran blindly towards the steaming magma man.

"… Stupid." Sanji finished, before he moved to stop the boy. That was when he noticed his missing captain, who appeared moments later, back to Akainu, as he grabbed his younger self by the shoulders to halt his progress. Luffy gasped at the familiar image, as all his rage was wiped from him as he stared at his future self.

"Don't be stupid. He's mine to fight. You don't have the strength yet, and besides," he turned towards the Akainu, "I've been waiting twenty-five years for this."  
"Still torn up about Fire Fist Ace?" the man asked as he stepped forwards, his Marine coat flowing in the soft breeze that smelt of the oncoming storm that Nami was undoubtedly creating. In answer to the question, Lufft simply stood, face expressionless, as he slowly cracked his knuckles, head cocked to the side.

"Don't you dare say his name." that was the only warning the Fleet Admiral received before a Haki blackened fist slammed into his face, accompanied by the sound of the man's face breaking.

"You got old, old man." With that, Luffy disappeared, the smudges of black and tan in the air, with the sounds of cracking bone and Akainu stumbling were the only signs of any battle. That was before Luffy was thrown across the pavements to the feet of his crew.

"What the hell?" Zoro muttered, before the sound of soft laughter caught his ear, and all eyes turned to the young woman known as Admiral Kazu.

"What is she?" Sanji asked as he looked upon the beauty before him.

"I ate the Hone Hone no mi, the Bone Bone fruit. If I choose, I can be boneless. Or, grow bones." To prove her point the crew watched as bones grew out of her flesh until she looked like an echidna, the perfect offense and defence.

"Then I'll cut through you." Zoro said simply, readying his blade to strike, but the soft laughter stopped him as he eyed the woman in front of him.

"Bone is stronger than steel. You cannot touch me. I on the other hand…" they watched, amazed, as she disappeared, before reappearing before Zoro, her arm transformed into a spear of bone as she struck downwards, a blow which would have been fatal had the swordsman not been skilled enough to stop the strike.

"Tch, aren't you interesting." Zoro smirked at her as she smiled sadistically in return. Her spear arm seemed to grow as more bone protruded from around it and swept towards Zoro, who dodged backwards. When the woman allowed the bone to retract, her arm was left in perfect condition, not even a scratch from where Zoro had blocked her.

"Looks like you need to dodge and strike the body that can't be manipulated. Sounds like fun." The six crew members turned at the obviously feminine voice, before parting like the Red Sea as a young woman stepped forwards, bare feet coated in blood and long black her sweeping side to side with every step.

"Shit Hebina, you're covered in blood. Again…" Sanji remarked as the young girl chuckled slightly and swept a hand over her blood spatted face, unknowingly smudging it in.

The present version of Sanji, Zoro and Luffy simply stared, respective mouths agape, as she stopped beside the future Luffy, though still facing the Fleet Admiral and Admiral.

"Let me handle her." She demanded softly, her voice fierce and assertive, yet she never lost her carefree air, as she began to stretch her arms and legs.

"You could get hurt." Luffy said simply, watching the girl carefully.

"I've got the brains and beauty of my mother, and the fighting spirit of my father." Flashing him a grin with sparkling eyes, she continued, "There's no way I can lose."

"Hebina, this is-"  
"A war. It's a war to save the Pirate King. I've heard it all before, in fact, I helped it happen. But I'm not going out to save the Pirate King, I'm going out to save my father." And with that the girl vanished, the only sign of her whereabouts was Admiral Kazu landing, sprawled, on the ground a few feet from where she was originally standing.  
"Boneless woman aye? I can see you've got no backbone. Why don't you stand up here and fight me like a woman. Let's see how well you really move when I tear those bones from your body."

"Brutal…" Zoro muttered as he watched the Admiral pull herself back up to her feet.

"You little… How dare you. I'll slaughter you!" the Admiral charged forwards, only to be met in the middle by Hebina.

"Wait, if she's here… Then who is protecting Nami-san and Robin-chan? MY BEAUTIES, YOUR KNIGHT IS COMING TO PROTECT YOU!" in a plume of smoke trailing into the distance, the present Sanji disappeared.

"Good riddance." Zoro remarked as he focused his attention on his enraged captain. The death aura emanating from the young man was unlike anything the swordsman had ever sensed from him, even when he was fighting against someone who had hurt his nakama. This Luffy was completely different to his loving, happy-go-lucky captain. This was the Luffy who lost his older brother and was faced with an opportunity for retribution. He had to get Luffy out of here, fast.  
"Oi, captain, we should go back and help the others. I think our future selves can handle the Fleet Admiral." But Luffy just stood there, red eyes fixated on Akainu, clearing seeing nothing but the burning man.

"Oi Luffy, you hear me?" But it was Sanji's future self that knocked Luffy out of it. Standing in front of the boy captain and effectively blocking his vision of the fight that the future Luffy and Zoro had just begun with the man, he spoke softly.

"Captain, I know you're pissed. But if you fight now, you'll die, and then Ace's sacrifice will mean nothing. If I were you, I'd want to live, if not for yourself, than at least for the life Ace gave away. You'll get your chance for revenge, I promise you that. But that time isn't now. If you want to beat him when you come across him again, than right now, you have to flee. Or you'll never get the chance stop him. Now GO!" he punctuated his point by pushing the young man back towards the main part of the plaza they had originally come from. Stumbling backwards, Luffy caught himself before watching his future firstmate, chef, and self, fight the cruellest and coldest man he had ever met in the Marines.


	8. Water and Rubble

**AHHHH I was going to update... But I didn't... Don't hurt me. **

**Thanks to the people who show their support. It's the only thing that keeps me writing.**

**I hope you enjoy it.**

**...**

" If we follow the shit-cook's cries of undying love, we should be able to find Nami and the others." Zoro remarked, as if he could follow his own advice without getting lost, but his comment was met with silence, as Luffy continued his run alongside his swordsman. Zoro glanced at his captain, a hint of concern reflecting in his steely eye, before he focused once again on the route ahead of them.

The plaza had become mostly unrecognisable. The rubble from surrounding buildings covered the floor, whilst what could be seen of the cobblestones was coated in water mingled with blood. The battles around them raged on, each combatant too engrossed in their own fights to notice the firstmate and captain, who had come to a stop in the plaza, looking around themselves in shock.

"It looks like a bomb went off and rearranged the whole island…" Zoro said to himself, not really overly concerned, but more curious as to how the island ending up in the state it was in.

However, their musings were cut short by a woman's scream.

"Nami!" Luffy cried, taking off at impossible speeds to reach the source of the terrified scream, Zoro following close behind.

When the two of them arrived, the first thing they noticed was the white haired woman kneeling on the ground, blood rolling down her face from a deep gash on her head. Nami stood on one side with Brook, while Robin and Franky stood on the other, each standing in offensive positions and looking a little worse for wear. Sanji landed nearby, and they noted that while the four had been protecting Mizula, Sanji had disappeared into the crowds of enemies to take them out before they could notice the disadvantaged group.

"What happened here?" Luffy asked, as he and Zoro jogged towards the circle.

"She was hit." Came the elusive reply of Mizuki, who walked forwards wiping the blood off his sword and onto his shirt. Looking into his mother's eyes, they seemed to speak to each other, before she nodded and he turned his back on her, facing the throngs of enemies.

"I'll be alright." Mizula said softly, rising to her feet and effectively disbanding the group that had formed around her.

"Alright, well, what the hell happened to the plaza?" Zoro asked, raising his three swords and preparing to fight.

"I did." Mizula said simply as her hair began to dance around her and water sprung up from the ground to circle enemy's heads in a sphere of water and drown them. Zoro turned to the woman and stared, stunned, before he grinned like a shark, deeply impressed by the woman, and more so by his future self who managed to wed her.

"Ano, is Luffy-san's future self saved?" asked a slightly frightened looking Brook as he looked between Zoro and Luffy.

"Yeah, he's fighting Akainu with the other Zoro and Sanji." Zoro remarked after he had slashed through a group of enemies that weren't dying fast enough.

"Well, if he's alive, isn't our job done? Shouldn't we leave?"

"You want to leave the place like this?"  
"No, Nami-san is correct. You should all leave this place before you're gravely injured." Mizula announced, "Find your sniper and doctor. Mizuki, go get Hebina. You're all leaving as soon as she's here." With a curt nod, Mizuki disappeared towards the origin of the execution platform, whilst Robin closed her eyes, conjuring eyes on the rooftops to locate the exact spot of her two missing nakama.

**…**

Usopp and Chopper had had to stop firing on unsuspecting victims and were currently engaged in battle with several pirates who had realised where they were hiding.

"Kung Fu Point!"

"Hi no Tori Boshi!"

Enemies fell like dominoes, no match for the two Strawhat Pirates. Chopper's quick speed and strength combined with Usopp's dazzling projectiles created a winning combination, and soon after their enemies' arrival, they were standing victorious.

"That's right, no one stands a chance against the famous captain Usopp-sama."

**…**

"They're atop the large building in the east. I've sent a clone up to let them know we're preparing to leave."

"Good. As soon as they get here we need to head to the beach where you came through."  
"What about the fight with Akainu? He could kill them." Sanji remarked, watching Mizula intently.

"It's not your problem. Forget it's happening."  
"But it is happening! Right now! Luffy is facing his greatest enemy, and you want me to pretend it's not happening?! That he's-"  
"YES, Zoro! I want you to pretend it isn't happening. I want you to forget you ever saw this, that you ever came here. I want you to leave." Her voice faded off as she stared intently into his eyes, her own eyes blazing with fury. "I can't lose you." She whispered, before turning back to the group.

"Robin, where are they?" Her professional tone back in place as if she'd never broken down a moment ago.

"On their way, they'll be here in a few minutes."

"Good, I'll clear us a path. Oh, and Zoro? Please stop staring."

Raising her arms skyward, the plaza began to rumble. Fissures cracked through the plaza floor, running past the combatants and out towards the ocean. People tumbled away from the cracks in the ground, before moving closer to peer into the growing gorge. It was a huge mistake on their part, as water shot up from the fissures, sending men into the sky whilst creating a hallway of water, and a clear path away from the plaza.  
"Whoa…"  
Mizula turned at the sound of the voice, before noticing it was Usopp, Chopper resting in his reindeer form by the sniper's knee. At what she saw, she smiled, a dazzling grin parting her face and showing perfect white teeth.  
"Let's go." She stood to the side as Brook, Usopp, and Chopper ran down the hallway towards the ocean, however, some hesitated to move. "Don't any of you believe in your captain's skill enough to know he will win this fight."  
"Yes, but at what cost?" Came Robin's reply, as the other six crew members stood defiantly, torn between running to their future captain and nakama, and running for their own lives.

"If you don't believe in your captain, then believe in me." Came the voice of a new party. All eyes of the crew turned to a woman who was described as the most beautiful woman in the world.  
"Hancock-san, I thought you were pacifying the Marines."  
"This is far more important." She said coldly, not even looking towards Mizula as she walked forwards.  
"If you do this, the Fleet Admiral will know your allegiance is no longer with the Marines, or the Shichibukai. Amazon Lily won't be safe anymore…"

"They're prepared to fight. Besides, this is more important. My love for Luffy…" Clasping her hands together and falling a mindless daydream, Hancock's words trailed off before Mizula coughed, catching the woman's attention.

"Besides, it makes sense for the Pirate King and the Pirate Empress to fight together."  
"Oh, you do plenty of that Hancock-san. Over every little thing," Hancock simply huffed, pouting her lips up and turning her face away in an adorable fashion, making the men and woman (aside from Luffy, Robin, and Zoro) to swoon.

"Where is he?" Hancock demanded, her voice firm.  
"Centre of the plaza, you'll probably hear them as you get close." Hancock nodded and made her way in the direction of the plaza's centre.  
"Don't fret, I'll save them."

"I'm relying on you Hancock!" To which Hancock simply raised a hand, continuing her progression towards Luffy.

"Right, Hancock may be a little self conceited, but she won't let Luffy die, or anyone else. So please, come with me. Your safety is essential."

"Right, let's go." Luffy nodded, and made his way down the water hallway. "Captain's order."

The crew were baffled, Luffy rarely gave out orders, yet here he was, not only walking away from a fight, but demanding the crew did also. Zoro simply sheathed his blades and walked forwards, following his captain, before the remaining crewmembers followed his lead and began their walk down the water aisle. Mizula smiled softly to herself, watching the scene. _'Luffy makes the orders, but no one moves until Zoro does.'_ She mused to herself, before shaking her head, smile still in place, and following the last member of the crew to the beach.

**...**

**The next chapter will detail the fight with Akainu. Prepare yourself people, things are getting bloody ;)**


	9. Blood and Bone

**Sorry for the huge break guys, it was Christmas time and I wanted the battle to be epic and lengthy, not strung together quick. So I've had some time to work on it. I hope you all had a great Christmas and have an even better year this year.**

**This Chapter is focused on the future peoples, just to avoid confusion ;)**

**Also, I originally said it would be about Akainu this time, but I decided to make it more suspenseful (if that's possible) and he'll be the next chapter.**

**…**

Lightning cackled overhead as it struck across the heavens, painting the world a deep purple-grey. Luffy lowered his head from the sky towards the admiral, eyes blazing like fire. The sound of a heavy collision brought all eyes to Admiral Kazu, as she doubled over panting, clutching her stomach as blood was coughed from her lips. A little ways away stood Hebina, blood matting her hair to her face as she blinked blood and sweat out of her eyes. She too was panting, but less so than the Admiral.

"Admiral Kazu, you're a shame to be called an Admiral. Now stand up and kill her." Akainu barked at the woman, who tried to straighten but ended up stumbling to the side. Panting hard a few more times, she finally rose, eyes blank, before conjuring a shark-tooth sword and charging Hebina blindly.

"Now then. Shall we finish this?" The emotionless tone of the Fleet Admiral's voice only added to the fear his presence invoked. Luffy simply nodded once, before he coated his arm in Haki and disappeared from view.

"Let's go, Shit-cook.." And with that, Zoro unsheathed Wado Ichimonji, all the time watching his captain slam punches into the Fleet Admiral, whilst dodging and blocking magma fists and projectiles. Finding an opening, the swordsman nodded, before he too disappeared into the fray.

"Sanji!" Sanji turned, legs bent, as he spotted who had called him.  
"Mizuki, and the charming Hancock-chan, what is it?"

"We need Hebina to open the time portal, they're ready to go back now. Where is-" the young boy stopped mid-question when he caught sight of the adolescent beauty trading blows and contorting into inhuman shapes to avoid the boneless woman.

"Ah shit." He muttered, knowing the young girl wouldn't run from a fight, even if the future depended on it. _She has too much pride that girl._ He thought to himself before sighing, running a hand through his white locks before meeting Sanji's gaze once more.  
"I'll help her out to speed things up." And with that, the young man ran towards the woman he loved.

"Hancock-chan, what are you doing here?" Sanji asked as he watched the boy run towards the fight, silently cursing at what harm would befall the female Admiral at the boys hands.

"I heard Luffy was to be executed." She stated coldly, before her eyes turned to Akainu, "My Mero-Mero no mi won't work on him. He is blind to beauty." Despite her being in her mid-fifties, Hancock had retained her youthful beauty, only now she had the maturity and wisdom of someone who had lived a long life.

"Maybe you shouldn't fight then," At Hancock's glare, Sanji hastily continued, "I only mean that Luffy is bound to make Zoro stop so he can beat Akainu on his own. He won't want all three of us helping him." Hancock huffed before crossing her arms and turning her head away, pouting slightly. With a soft sigh, she lowered her arms and looked towards the battle.

"I'll stay by his side no matter what." Turning to Sanji, a soft smile gracing her lips, she continued, "'Till death do us part, remember?" And with that, she walked forwards briskly as Sanji smiled to himself, and followed her progression.

…

"Shit." Mizuki remarked as his blade was tossed from his hand and he landed, sprawled, amongst the rubble of the plaza. A few moments later, Hebina was tumbling backwards, sliding in the puddles before landing beside him.

"Shit." She echoed.

"You okay?" He asked, still not ready to move yet. The arm of the hand holding the sword that had been disarmed was tingling uncomfortably, whilst his wrist and shoulder were throbbing painfully from the impact of the blow. _Bone really is strong_, he thought absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You?" The sound of a body shifting was all he heard, and he decided to mimic his childhood friend as she rose from her position to stand.

"Yeah, I'm great." He replied sarcastically, both standing side-by-side, looking at their enemy. "My swords can't cut through the bone. Maybe dad could if he was really focused, but I can only just manage steel…" His voice trailed off slightly as he admitted his weakness. Hebina was simply watching him thoughtfully, before a soft smile graced her delicate and damaged features.

"What about water?" She said softly.  
"What about it?"

"Well, skeletons decompose in water, if the temperature and pH levels are high. Can you heat the water up, and change the acidity?" Mizuki looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Hebi-chan, I'm a Water-Man, not an Acid-Man."  
"Well, this is water! Use Akainu's magma to heat the water, that's high temperatures at least. Melt the bone or something, I dunno. I'm just thinking out loud here! Why don't you do some work?"  
"Because you're the brains, I'm the brawn!"

"Enough with the lover's spat already, you're giving me a headache." Admiral Kazu remarked smugly, clutching the hair near her temple to exaggerate her point. Both Hebina and Mizuki turned slightly pink at her implication before they regained their bearings and glared defiantly at the woman. Kazu just cackled, before charging forwards, only to be met in the middle by Hebina, who blocked her blow and delivered her own the woman's stomach. After all the hits the Admiral had taken to her gut, Hebina knew it would be the most painful place to hit, and she was rewarded with the breathless gurgle of blood and spittle falling from the woman's open mouth. Smiling at her small win, Hebina twisted, turning the woman and putting her off balance, before slamming her fist into the woman's back, and crushing her kidney. A shrill scream escaped the woman as she aimed a kick at Hebina's face, craning her neck painfully, the blow only connected her ear, making it burn and ring painfully, before she upended the Admiral, kicking the side of the woman's knee, and successfully dislocating it. The sound of cracking bone was heard, even over the woman's cries of agony. Clutching her legs, she glared hatefully at Hebina, who stood in an offensive position, fists raised near her face, as she looked on disdainfully.

"Any time you want to help Mizu…" She muttered, to which Mizuki responded which a 'tch' before closing his eyes and raising his hands. Similar to his mother, his hair danced around his face, the temperature dropped dramatically, and the water particles in the air condescend. The falling rain was redirected, falling towards the ground before shooting towards the young man and wrapping around his forearms and hands. A ball of water materialised in his hand, before condensing into a smaller ball.

"Water Bomb!" the ball shot from his hand, careening towards the Admiral. Looking up in terror, the ball exploded. The startled scream of the woman was all that was heard as she was flung, the ground exploding beneath her. The water flew back towards Mizuki before re-condensing, but this time it took the form of a katana. The water continued to spiral, sharpening it's edge and creating a chainsaw like affect.

The Admiral was already semi-conscious from the explosion, the whites of her eyes and open mouth made her look helpless, and Mizuki took her vulnerability as an opening. Walking forwards slowly, blood-mingled with water rolled down from various wounds the Admiral had made, but he took no notice of the pain, simply continued his progression. He walked past Hebina, and she lowered her fists and relaxed her stance, eyeing the boy as he stopped, metres before the Admiral. He turned towards Akainu, watching the fight between Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, Hancock, and Akainu, before twisting his body like a discus thrower, and releasing his water-sword.

The water blade rocketed towards the fight, before it reached out, like a whip, and swirled around the Fleet Admiral.  
"What the hell?" Zoro muttered, before he turned his head in the direction the blade had originated. Turning back, he watched as the water wrapped around Akainu, steam billowing off of him, before the water retracted, swirling forcefully back towards the young man, and reforming into the blade, still steaming with heat. Taking a few more steps, he stood over the Admiral.

Noticing his presence, Admiral Kazu formed a cacoon of bone, wrapping herself into an oblong shape before small spikes erupted from the surface of the bone-shell.  
"Ultimate defence; Bone-Ball!"

"Tch, you'd think you'd come up with a more creative name. Doesn't matter, that won't protect you… I think…" Glancing back to Hebina, she nodded softly.

"High temperature and high pH should decompose the bone."

"Well, let's see if I can change the acidity…" Focusing his energy into the swirling blade, the water started to change, tinging yellow, before brightening slightly into an orange and than pinkish colour. Panting, Mizuki opened his eyes, glanced at the blade, and grinned like a shark. In one swift movement, he'd raised the blade above his head, and slammed it downwards with as much force as the exhausted man could muster. When the blade collided with the bone, steam rose from the bone, but nothing else happened.  
"More acidity!"

Clawing deep into the reserves of his strength, Mizuki let out a yell as the blade's edge turned faster and the water bubbled, turning a fierce red, before the bone split down the middle, cracks appearing throughout the shell, before it crumbled into tiny pieces, leaving the Admiral unconscious, a sheen of blood covering her body.

"Mizu!" Hebina cried as she watched the man begin his descent, landing hard on the ground. Panting, Hebina hefted his body into her arms, checked him over quickly, before smiling softly to herself.

"Baka." She laid him down beside her, allowing the rain to soak his skin, knowing it would heal him faster than any doctor could.

"You need to go back to the ocean and open the portal for the younger crew. That's why I came here." He chuckled, realising how late she would end up being and tried to estimate how much trouble he'd get in. Hebina smiled to him, and crouched, pulling him upwards into a sitting position.

"You're coming with me." And together, they limped towards the far side of the plaza, aiming for the beach.

…

Zoro nodded to himself, seeing the conclusion to the fight between Admiral Kazu, Hebina, and Mizuki, he was glad to know that the two were alright. Turning his attention back towards the Admiral, his resolve hardened. This would be the final fight, and he would not back down. Even if death met him at the end of it.


	10. Victory and Escape

"You're getting heavy Mizu-kun." To which the young man simply grunted. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed her breathing becoming heavy, guilt raced through him as he shifted from his position, releasing her shoulders from the arm she'd draped over them.

"We're almost at the beach, I'll make it on my own." He said simply, and ignored her protests. Truth be told, he was exhausted. He'd never manipulated water like that, and add bleeding wounds and an aching arm (which he suspected had dislocated), he wasn't faring too well. But he trudged on, stumbling on rubble, yet holding himself well. Hebina glanced at the boy and nodded to herself, before focusing her sights on the beach and praying to gods she didn't believe in, that no one would attack them.

**…**

"Moronic woman." Akainu muttered as he glanced at the unconscious Adimral and the two children who had managed to destroy her. Zoro smirked to himself, the idea was obviously Hebina's, he would guess that even Robin's intelligence would pail in comparison to the teen. Landing a horrifically solid blow, Zoro watched the lava man begin to melt the metal of his katana. Eyes wide, he jumped back, focusing his energy on the blade and watching as darkness crept upon the metal.  
"You're crew harnesses a lot of strength, Mugiwara no Luffy. But they'll all be executed at the hands of the Marines." The man crouched slightly, arms to the side and being engulfed in lava. "Enough of these games!" He charged, his speed, despite his age, had not slowed, in fact he seemed to have become faster. Pulling his fist back he punched, aiming directly at the swordsman's face, who brought his sword up to block. Upon the connection, the swordsman was pushed backwards, feet sliding on the water. Despite Zoro's phenomenal strength, his attempt to block was being thwarted. A slender leg slammed into the Fleet Admiral's face, sending him reeling, whilst the sudden disappearance of his force sent Zoro's falling forwards. Looking to his right, he saw Hancock, leg slowly lowering to her side, a pinkish tinge marring the skin of her leg. _He burnt her…_ Zoro thought as he caught himself from falling, eyes trained on the woman's face.  
"He won't be happy you're here." Zoro remarked as he watched Sanji go into a handstand, slamming black clad foot after foot into the Fleet Admiral's torso and face.

"His happiness can wait. His life is more important." She replied to Zoro coldly, but he could hear the concern in her voice. He grunted in response, readjusting his grip on the blade before unsheathing his third katana, placing it between his teeth.

"You should leave. You and Sanji. Take care of your families."  
"Luffy is family too. And you think I'd leave that easily?" She looked at him sternly, eyes boring into his single one.  
"Your shoulders and neck must be causing you agony. If you two stay here, you'll die."  
"I resigned my life when I joined the crew. I'll protect the captain. And what of your family? What about Hebina. If Ero-cook and I leave, and…" He didn't finish his sentence before he sighed, shaking his lowered head. "I'm not running."  
"No, you're not. You're protecting the rest of the crew, like you should be. Leave this battle to the captain."  
"Are you leaving too?" Zoro asked, despite having no intention to leave Luffy alone to fight Akainu, he would drag Hancock away if it meant saving her life.  
"I'm not technically a crew member. I do as I please. I'm above begging Zoro, but I'll lower my head to you if it will make you leave. I won't let Luffy die. Not after everything I had to do to make him mine."

Zoro mulled over her words before looking intently at the woman. Her blue eyes were dim, an unusual thing for her whenever she was in Luffy's vicinity. But he also noted the determination, the seriousness in her words. He knew she wouldn't let Luffy die, even if it cost her life. But he was the firstmate, and Luffy, well, Luffy was like a little brother to him. Taking a deep breath, he cursed fluently before raising his voice.  
"Oi, Sanji!" said man turned to Zoro, while Luffy took over the assault on the Fleet Admiral. "Get over here, we're going." The look of shock and horror that crossed the chef's face broke the swordsman's heart. He looked shocked and confused, and… angry. But nevertheless, he ran to the swordsman, vocalising his opinion on what Zoro had said with every swear word under the sun.  
"Luffy will make us leave anyway. This is his revenge; we're no part of it. Besides, Hebina and Mizu left, both are pretty injured. I'm worried they won't make it through the plaza, considering the battles going on there. Considering all of that, I think we should head to them, to help them get to safety." His voice was agonising to hear. Every word, every syllable evidently caused the swordsman great pain. "Hancock will take care of Lu."

With that, the swordsman grabbed the arm of the chef and left, dragging the weakly protesting man with him. Stopping beside Hancock, he spoke again,  
"If you let him die, I will kill you." Hancock simply nodded, still glaring hatefully at Akainu.  
"Thank you, if I let him die, I'd want no less than death."

**…**

"Mizu-kun… You're barely walking." Mizuki simply grunted, dragging his feet forwards to continue their progression. The beach was in sight. They were on the edge of the plaza and they could see the vague figures in the distance. The sound of pounding footsteps coming up behind them was, at this stage, not a very welcome sound. Turning abruptly, one with raised fists, the other with a barely raised sword, the two were met with the last thing they'd been expecting.  
"Dad?" Mizuki muttered, lowering his blade.

"Uncle Sanji! Uncle Zoro! Where's dad? Is he-?"  
"Fighting with Hancock-chan." Sanji answered as Zoro went to Mizuki, grabbing his arm and slinging it over his own shoulders to help the boy get to the beach.

"What are you two doing here then?" Hebina asked, watching Zoro's movements carefully as he started to move forwards with Mizuki.  
"Ask him." Sanji remarked gruffly, looking pissed beyond belief before he seemingly shook himself out of it and looked closely at Hebina.

"You're injured, do you need help walking too?" Hebina simply shook her head in response, and the two followed the Roronoa's to the beach.

"Oh my." Robin whispered, being the first the see the quartet. All eyes soon followed and they saw a limping Sanji, a bloodied and exhausted Hebina, and Zoro helping a blood soaked Mizuki walk towards the group on the beach.  
"What happened?" Mizula asked, worry evident in her voice as she moved towards her husband and son.  
"These two fought with Admiral Kazu. She won't be a problem any more." Sanji said, voice trailing off as he watched Hebina and Mizuki lower their heads simultaneously; clearly ashamed of the beating they'd given the woman.

"Oh my.." Mizula muttered, hand moving to her open mouth before she moved forwards, grabbing Mizuki away from Zoro and looking him up and down, making sure he wasn't greatly injured.  
"I'm glad you're okay." She smushed the boy into her arms, gripping him tightly and cutting off his oxygen supply, before he tapped out and she moved back a little, his blood clinging to her clothes and hair.

"You look like shit." Luna said simply, looking at her little brother. She'd never tell a soul, but seeing him so injured and from so far away had her heart beating painfully. She was glad he was alright.

The boy plopped down on the soft sand, leaning back on his single arm that wasn't injured, he eyes his sister.  
"Shut up." The two looked at each other for a moment, before the two of them grinned.

"Hebina, are you able to open a portal now?" Mizula asked, and all eyes turned to the blood matted teen. Pushing a hand over her forehead and removing some blood, she sighed.  
"I don't think so. I used up a lot of energy in that battle and I need some time to recuperate. Not to mention I used my devil fruit on Mizu-kun's water blade."

"That's why it was turning so fast… " The boy muttered from his place on the ground. Confusing everyone more so, eyes darting between the two of them.

"I thought Hebina-san could only slow or accelerate a person's time, as you said, Luna-san." Robin inquired, honestly intrigued about the young girl's devil fruit abilities, deciding in that moment to find a book about it when they returned.

"I also said it was hard to explain." Luna said evasively, avoiding the woman's gaze.

"More importantly, Hebina-san, how long until you can send us home?" Brook asked, feeling slightly ill at the sights he had seen throughout their time here. So much bloodshed and lives lost had an effect on the skeleton that he never liked to explain. If this was their future, he wouldn't mind waiting the twenty-odd years to get there.  
Plopping herself on the ground, she sighed, "I dunno, a little while. But we can stay here until I'm ready. Maybe dad will be back by then." The worried look on her face spoke volumes of her fear, and mirrored the looks of the present crew members. Mizuki crawled over to her, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, to which she leaned into, eyes closed.

"He'll be fine, he's uncle Luffy, he can do anything." He encouraged with a warm smile, resting the side of his head on top of her own as she nodded her agreement. The surrounding adults shifted slightly, attempting to give the affectionate pair a sense of privacy. However, Luna had some other ideas.  
"Well, look who finally realised they're in love with each other." She chuckled softly as the two teens faces slowly turned red.  
"Luna! Stop it. You can't tell them that! They have to realise on their own." Mizula reprimanded as the green haired teen laughed. The two in question jumped apart, each standing as far from each other as possible, while the older people in the large group smiled at their innocence.

It was then that their happiness and joy was shattered, at the piercing, blood-curdling scream of a man in indescribable agony.


	11. Heartbreak and Despair

**It was then that their happiness and joy was shattered, at the piercing, blood-curdling scream of a man in indescribable agony.**

**...**

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled, turning to run back to the battlefield, no one protested as they all forgot their injuries and followed. The battles throughout the plaza had died down, bodies littering the area, some groaning in pain, others silent. No one paid attention to anything, each tearing through the plaza at impossible speeds to reach the man who had screamed moments before.

**…**

"Boa Hancock. I knew your position as a Shichibukai was a rouse. You're a traitor to the Marines." Raising a fist to the sky, the clouds darkened. The rain that had been previously falling began to lessen, the droplets evaporating before they reached the ground. The temperature in the vicinity began to rise as fists of magma began falling from the sky. The harsh collisions set the plaza into chaos. Rubble was flown, creating more havoc, slamming into people, and burning innocent bystanders into a crisp. Luffy's mouth fell open, _ 'He's not even aiming for us.' _The screams of the surrounding men and women made Luffy pale.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He screamed, but the man in question simply laughed at the death he was causing.  
"It's your fault, Strawhat Luffy. If it wasn't for you, no one here would be dead." His sickening, sadistic laugh echoed throughout Luffy's mind in a never-ending loop as he took in the scene surrounding him.

"That's not true! They fought of their own free will, and they died fighting for what they believed in!" Hancock screamed at Akainu, before calming herself and turning slightly towards Luffy, "Don't listen to him Luffy. He's trying to-"  
"I know." Luffy interrupted, before turning to face off with the Fleet Admiral once again. A single pump of Luffy's blood hurtled through his system, dyeing his skin a glowing pink, before he took off, launching forwards like a rocket, and slamming a fist into the Fleet Admiral's chest, sending the man flying. Whilst the man was in motion, Luffy attacked again, appearing beneath him before his bare foot collided with the man's back, bending it awkwardly and changing his trajectory to send him into the air. Hancock took this as her moment to appear in the sky above him, leg raised, before lowering it on the man's face. Akainu shot downwards at incredible speeds, before his face was imbedded into the plaza's floor. Luffy stood up in time to see Hancock land not far from him. It was at that precise moment that a deep, evil laugh began to rise from the mouth of the Fleet Admiral. Grabbing Hancock, Luffy pulled her away, giving distance between them and their enemy, as they watched him rise out of the earth like a deranged monster.

"You think Hancock was a traitor to the Marines?" Luffy asked simply, "Yet in comparison to you, she's saved so many more, helped so many more. All you do is kill. Your own men even! How can you call yourself a Marine? You're the traitor!" Slamming his fists together, Armament Haki spread to his limbs as the Fleet Admirals laughter resounded around them, bouncing off crumbling buildings and amplifying. Slowly, lava began to spill down the man, as it formed a ball around his fists, before reshaping, making his fists larger, and hotter than the lava they had previously encountered.  
"Luffy, I'll distract him, you attack when he isn't paying any attention to you." Hancock said quietly, hoping that having a rough plan would help them in their path to victory. But Luffy wasn't listening, blinded by rage for the man, he ignored Hancock's plan and rushed forwards blindly.

The Fleet Admiral simply watched as Luffy ran to attack him, a harsh grin etched on his face. "You brothers have a habit of not listening to your allies. I told you back then, I wouldn't let the two of you escape." Despite the small ache in the scar on his chest and the vivid memory of Ace ignoring his colleagues who told him to run, Luffy wasn't deterred, though the slight widening of his eyes and limpness in his appendages was noticeable to the Fleet Admiral, who smiled wider at the effect his words had on the Captain. De-materialising, Akainu disappeared from Luffy's path, before standing behind the now unprotected Hancock.  
"Traitors to the Marine's will perish."

Time seemed to slow as Luffy turned, seeing the Fleet Admiral's figure towering over Hancock's slender frame. A look of fear was evident in her beautiful features as she turned her face skywards, looking up to the man behind her. She stood, paralysed, as Luffy gasped, sprinting with all his strength to make it back to her, to save her. But it was all in vain.

A fist of magma penetrated the woman's torso.

Luffy stumbled, falling to his knees as he watched the woman he loved begin to burn, blood exploding from her lips in a scene that was all too familiar to the captain. Withdrawing his fist, Akainu retreated a few steps, watching as the woman's gaze began to loss it's ferocity, her consciousness leaving her. The last thing Akainu was expecting as he watched the life of the woman drain was a hard fist to slam into his face. Punch after punch the man took, with no hopes of defending against the enraged assault of the Strawhat's captain. The final punch slammed into the Fleet Admiral, and he fell backwards, watching as Luffy stood there, fists clenched and panting, before turning his back and running towards the now falling Hancock.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Luffy cried, as he held the woman close to himself, as if repeating the word would change what was happening. His hand spread out over the wound, growing in size to encompass the entire gaping hole, and stem the bleeding.

"Luffy…" The woman gasped, struggling to breathe.  
"No, please Hancock, don't talk. Don't say anything. Just hold on. Promise me. Promise!" He screamed the last word, begging the dying woman to stay in the world of the living. A small smile found it's way onto the woman's face. Tear drops fell from the captain's eyes as he buried his head in her neck, whispering for her to 'stay with him', as his tears began to wet her hair.

"I'm sorry, Luffy…" She chocked out, gagging on the taste of blood in her mouth, "I don't think I can." At her whispered words, Luffy froze, pain chorusing through his heart and rendering him immobile. Lowering her slightly, he gazed into her unseeing eyes.

"Hancock…" He whispered, watching her shallow breaths growing more faint.  
"Thank you…" She whispered, "For loving me." Her words sent a shot of lightning to his heart, wrapping itself tightly around the artery and causing immense pain to his entire body. An image of Ace appeared in his broken mind as he remembered his brother's finally words, echoing painfully similar to the ones Hancock had just said.  
"Don't be silly. Of course I love you. Of course!" His grip tightened on her body as his voice became more frantic. _I can't lose anyone else!_ He thought desperately, but it would seem that fate had something else in mind as her smile slipped from her lips and her eyes closed themselves, resigned to her doom.

A terrible scream ripped itself from Luffy's throat as his eyes trained onto the man that had caused so much agony in his life. Slowly lowering Hancock's still form to the ground, he then rose, tears still falling from his cheeks, as his hands clenched into fists. Putting all of his energy into a final attack that would leave his nemesis as broken as he was.

**...**

**Ahhh! Sorry minna, but it had to happen. Luffy needs some motivation.**

**Reviews are welcome, they make me want to write more.  
****Shout out to _Ashlielle_****you always spur me on and I love the reviews! :D **


	12. Reawakening and a New Resolve

**So I haven't updated this in a long time and I'm really really sorry about that but life kind of got in the way. But I promise that I'm going to focus on finishing this super soon. :)**

**…. **

Luffy glared down at the man who stood before him, a combination of pain and rage coursing through his blood and pounding in his head. Glancing down, Luffy took one last look at the beautiful woman covered in blood in front of him, and calmed himself. Releasing his fists, he took a step towards her, picking up her limp body in his arms before walking further away from where he would stand against the Fleet Admiral, to protect her from the fight. Lowering her lovingly, he left a single kiss pressed against her forehead before turning his back on her. He knew what he looked like now. Covered in someone else blood, pain on his face and a cold rage in his eyes. To put it shortly, he looked terrifying, monstrous. And he was slightly pleased about that. This man deserved to feel the agony that fear developed before he died, and Luffy was glad to give him just that. Smirking sadistically, he pumped his blood into Second Gear before enlarging his fists and spreading Arnament Haki up over his arms.  
"You ready?" He muttered to Akainu, and watched as said man slide a foot backwards, knees slightly bent, as he prepared himself for the battle.

…

Arriving at the place of their captain and future captain, everyone stood still, frozen, at the sight before them. Luffy was engaging the Fleet Admiral in combat. Currently the middle-aged captain was being held aloft by a large glove-clad fist that was wrapped around his small throat and squeezing the life out of him. Small fists pounded on the heavy arm as his legs seemed to kick out aimlessly. Only a fool would miss the smell of burning rubber that seemed to accompany the awkward struggling.  
"What do we do?" Usopp asked quietly, aiming his question at the future Zoro who was watching the battle in shock.  
"Damn…" Said man mumbled before shaking his head and turning. "Nothing, Luffy would hate us to intervene in this battle." Future Zoro said before his eyes once more became glued to the black haired man. It was then that the witnessed Luffy find a foothold, before grabbing the arm suspending him in the air and kicking off, flipping over the lava man and slamming his back into the rubble. Luffy quickly rolled to the side, clutching at his burnt throat and panting heavily before he noticed the crew. Eyes widening as he scanned the large group before he found her.  
"Get Hebi out of here! NOW!" But he was too late.

"Mum?" Hebina whispered ,as her bare feet made motion towards the limp figure of Hancock. "Mum… MUM!" She ran, faster than anyone who made a motion to stop her and slid on her knees to the form of the woman.

"Wake up! … Please…" Her scream died off into a whisper as she buried her head on the woman's chest attempting to hold back her tears. The plaza stood still as they watched the young girl mourn over the loss of her mother. No one was expecting her head to shoot up quickly with the look of confusion before looking at Hancock's face again.  
"Hebi-chan?" Mizuki said softly, making his way towards her in case she needed someone to hold onto.

"Her heart…" Hebina whispered.

"What about it..?" The approaching boy replied, confused as to why she was acting so strangely. When her face broke out into a small grin laced with hope that he realised.  
"It's still beating." Silence fell heavily as Hebina took a step back, placing her hands on either side of the wound and took a deep breath. A small off-yellow coloured ball, the same colour as the whirlpool they'd stepped into to get to the future appeared, hovering above the hole in Hancock's chest, before dispersing outwards and covering the hole, front and back, in a gel-like bubble.

"What's she doing?" Nami asked, the tears on her face had long since dried as she stared in shock at the scene.

"Don't you remember?" All eyes turned to Luna as her eyes crinkled in a soft smile, "She can slow a person's time."

"Chopper-san, can you help me?" At Hebina's hopeful words, the young doctor's face fell as tears streamed down from his blubbering face. The surrounding spectators were shocked.  
"Ev-even if you co-could slow h-her death, I ca-can't heal th-that wo-wound." His words became more broken as he began breaking down into a blubbering mess.

"But she'll die…" Hebina muttered, looking back down at her mother who remained unmoving. Hardening her resolve, Hebina grunted, and the present crew and future members watched as the off-yellow orb surrounding Hancock grew to encompass her whole body, as well as Hebina's.

"Hebi-chan, what are you doing?" Mizuki asked, he was standing the closet to the pair and he could see ancient script written in the bubble that was growing around them.

"I'm giving her my time." She replied simply. As her words sun into the crew, they jumped towards her, everyone begging her to stop, that Hancock was gone, that she shouldn't give up her life like it meant nothing. Hebina watched their faces as she listened to their pleas, before her eyes trained onto Mizuki. He hadn't said a word and she found herself desperately wanting to know his thoughts. She watched his sad eyes as he smiled forlornly.  
"Go for it Hebi-chan. Just don't give too much." She smiled brightly at his words, giving him a nod before looking back down at her mother and focusing on expelling her own energy. At her change, the crew's went quiet, watching the young girl as pressure seemed to push down on everything in the sphere. They heard her grunt before her head was thrown back, eyes wide and blank, as a deafening scream was torn from her throat.

Usopp felt his mouth fall open. The sound the girl made would stay with him for the rest of his life. It was the sound of death.

After moments that felt like hours, the girl slumped, panting heavily as she tried to scramble the oxygen into her lungs. Somehow managing to pull herself together, she eyed Hancock laying before her.  
"Please…" She whispered, removing a stray hair from the woman's face. The hole in her chest was gone, replaced by flawless pale skin.  
"Mum…" She said, gently shaking the woman's shoulder. It was then that piercing blue eyes opened, fierce and cold.

"Hebina, what did you do?" Came the stern voice of Boa Hancock. Hebina smiled brightly at the woman.  
"Oh, you know, I just gave up ten years of my life." Her wide grin seemed to grow as she threw her arms around the woman who began reprimanding her on her actions and demanding that she never do something so selfless again.

"I don't want to break up the mood… But Luffy's still fighting with Akainu…" Mizuki said quietly, and all eyes turned to the scene just in time to see Luffy's body thrown, before sprawling not far from them.

Everyone watched with bated breath as he turned towards them, eyeing Hancock holding Hebina (who had fallen unconscious). He grinned at the scene before turning his attention back to Akainu and rising to his feet.

"Now I've got one more reason to kick your arse."


	13. Swords and Rubber

**Yay, almost finished my first chapter story!**

**...**

Even with the Observation Haki of several crewmembers, watching the fight between Akainu and the future Luffy was near impossible. They moved so quickly that they merely became smudges and blurs with the backdrop of the plaza. Thumps and cracks permeated the air, as did the grunts and groans of the fighters, but no one could decipher who exactly it was.

"What's going on?" Nami all but whispered, shock at the scene in front of her was heard in her voice as she attempted to watch the battle taking place in front of her.

"Lu's getting serious, that's what." Came the gruff reply of the elder Zoro, his lone eye tracking the scene before him.

"Who's winning?" Brook asked quietly, walking up to stand beside the elder man. But it was the future version of Sanji who answered.

"They're both taking a lot of hard hits, but Akainu is on the ropes." As if the world was playing a cosmic joke, the second those words left his lips they saw Luffy sprawled on the ground, struggling to get up as he held his right arm against his chest protectively. It didn't take a genius to tell he was in pain, if the grimace on his face and the panting was any indication.

"I thought you said he was winning!" Yelled Usopp as the crew watched small tendrils of smoke rising from their future fallen captain. A deep throaty chuckle caught the attention of the onlookers as Akainu walked towards Luffy as said man pulled himself into a crouch, arm still pinned to his chest.  
"Rubber burns better than flesh." Was all the Fleet Admiral said as he raised another fist, taking his time as he allowed the lava to come into the highest temperature he could, before slamming it downwards.

It transpired quickly. Two things happened at once and all in a single second. Luffy had flipped himself over, successfully avoiding the blast, whilst the future Zoro had somehow gotten over to the combatants and raised a single sword against Akainu's strike. The Fleet Admiral looked smug as he forced his fist downwards and Zoro met his force, pushing up, and creating a sort of war of strength between the two. A war they knew Zoro would never allow himself to lose.

"Shit." Luffy muttered as he clutched his still steaming arm. It was obvious that the burns there were severe and would most definitely scar.

"He won't be able to use his arm." Chopper all but whispered, tears rolling down his furry cheeks as he watched the future Luffy try to use the injured limb, curse, and bring it back to his chest in the subconscious need to protect it.

The sound of grinding teeth caught the attention of everyone watching and they glanced to see the future Sanji's jaw clenching and unclenching. His right fist clenched tightly. Turning back to Zoro and Akainu's standoff, they could see why. The sword was beginning to descend, losing the battle as it began to melt somewhat, his shoulders beginning to shake.  
"This isn't good…" Mizula muttered to herself, trailing off her words as she started rocking back and forth, clearly anxious for her husband.

"I see his sword is melting somewhat, but why is that causing you so much stress, Mizula-san?" Robin questioned, gaining the attention of the rest of the crew. For a moment, Mizula continued watching the stand off, but then she answered.  
"Zoro has arthritis in his shoulders and neck from all of the intense training he did, the repetitive movements aren't good for joints. He's already been fighting all day, meaning his arthritis will be acting up. And now he's doing it again. He's in more pain than you think, chronic amounts of pain, but he's too stubborn to admit it." Eyes moved from the woman to the stand off between the two men, they could see the slight shake of Zoro's form and the feral grin of Akainu as he bore down on his prey.

"GET UP DAD!"

Heads whipped around to Hebina, she was running from Hancock, who was now standing gingerly, towards the rest of the crew and beyond, stopping only when Franky reached out and clutched her arm. She turned to him, unshed tears in her large blue eyes, but she said nothing, simply looked back to her father.

"Please get up…" She was pleading, begging her father to get up and fight. All eyes turned back to the future Luffy, arm still pinned tightly to his chest, before he turned back towards Zoro, who was holding Akainu back. They could see him mustering up his strength and hardening his resolve as he rose to his feet. Taking a few steps towards his Firstmate, he grinned.  
"Oi, what happened to not getting involved in this?" Luffy chuckled. Glancing a look over his shoulder, Zoro grinned at his captain. Pushing forwards with a new vigour, Zoro was able to catch the unsuspecting Fleet Admiral (who thought he'd won the battle of strength) and throw him back a step. Whilst his arms were flailing, Zoro dropped to the ground, twisting his shoulders roughly and landing a powerful strike to the Marine's torso, sending him flying backwards in the aftershock of his aerial attack. Momentarily, the Fleet Admiral's eyes rolled back into his head at the sheer force of the attack, before he was able to bring himself back. Only in enough time to witness Luffy's giant, blackened fist about to bury him in the cobblestoned street. The impact sent blasts of wind throughout the plaza, pushing back debris and making standing a difficult task for the crew members who were looking on and watching the fight.

...

"Is it… Is it over?" Usopp asked shakily as he glanced around the plaza. He knew he wasn't the strongest fighter, he couldn't use Observation, or Armament Haki, hell, he could barely punch even if his life depended on it, let alone really being able to sense the strength of an opponent like Luffy did. But it didn't take a genius to realise that the future version of Luffy was impossibly strong. The shockwave of a single punch had thrown parts of buildings around like they weighed nothing. He was fast, strong, resourceful in battle, and still had an innocent, 'happy-go-lucky' air about his person. Usopp found himself admiring his captain even more, making a promise to himself that he wouldn't become a useless crewmember that would get left behind in the wake of his captain's glory. Looking around at the people surrounding him, he waited for an answer, but it never came. He could see Akainu all but embedded in the ground. He was bleeding from various wounds that both Luffy and Zoro had inflicted, but whether he was dead or not was to remain unknown as of yet.

"Doesn't matter, he's unconscious at least. That means we're relatively safe. No other marines are going to attack when Akainu is down." Luna announced to the present crewmembers, and Usopp let go of a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"So… Back to the present now?" Nami asked, not yet sure if she should be speaking after such a battle, even though Usopp already had.  
"Almost." The future Luffy declared. They watched as he walked towards the future Zoro, clasped him on the back, and continued his progression towards them, face looking grim. "I made an order. An order that no one from my crew was to help me, and I can see that every single one of you breaks that order." He spoke with an air of finality. He was pissed, and the members knew, regardless of if they were from the present and actually received the order or from the past, they knew they too would be punished. Luffy eyed them all down, seeming to take in all the tattered clothing, bruises and cuts from each member standing before him, until his eyes fell on Hancock. His face softened instantly before he walked towards the black haired beauty. Gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, he softly asked if she was okay, to which she responded with a small smile and a nod. His face split into a smile as he gazed at the woman before he stepped back, blank mask back in place as he eyed everyone again. Suspense hung thick in the air as the younger crewmembers looked between each other, each looking more terrified than the last. Luffy stepped forwards then, looking up to glance into his own future self's eyes.

"I revoke that order. If I do it in the past, than it never existed and you can't punish us." Everybody was silent, mouth's agape at the somewhat intelligent thing their docile captain had said. They watched stunned, glancing between the two versions of Luffy like it was a tennis match. The future Luffy's face split into the largest grin they'd ever seen, even on their rubber-faced captain.  
"Well, my punishment was going to be a party, food cooked by the greatest chef in all the seas, but if you don't want the punishment, I guess you can go." The present Luffy's instant shout of 'FOOD!' was all anyone needed to know a party would be held for both versions of the crews. Sanji groaned, looking at his younger self.  
"You're not getting out of this."

…

**There will be one more chapter to finish up everything, probably won't be heaps long, but I'll see how it goes. I'd hate to end on an odd number.**


	14. Closure and Adventures

**So you know how sometimes you get a text and you think you've replied but you haven't..? Well that happened. Sorry for the delayed update, I thought I'd posted it but it's actually just been sitting in my documents… :)**

**…**

Sanji smiled as he stirred the stew he was brewing in the large kitchen the Thousand Sunny provided him. Glancing down at his newest recipe, he added a pinch of chilli peppers to the pot and began preparing the bowls to dish out the feast into. It had been a few days since the crew had returned to their own timeline and it had been quite a rowdy week. After the party held by their future selves in the high class restaurant the future Sanji and Nami owned together, (Nami of course seeing a huge profit coming from Sanji's world renowned skills in the kitchen), they had been sent home by a rejuvenated Hebina who claimed the more unnecessary time spent in the future would probably have a terrible aftereffect. The journey back had been much the same as it had been to the future. A stomach drop and a whirl hole later and they were continuing their celebration on the great blue seas.

Sanji recalled Robin asking what their future selves would do before they returned back to their own time.  
"Well, we can't stay here anymore, we're still wanted and the Marines will be swarming this island soon… We probably shouldn't even be having this party." The future Nami had said thoughtfully, tapping her finger against her chin.

"We'll set sail." Luffy's future self claimed after swallowing a large amount of meat and slinging his arm over Nami's shoulder, said woman trying to hide a smile behind a look of annoyance. "I was thinking about it anyway, we still have lots of adventures to have." He had smiled widely then, before turning to the future Sanji and declaring more meat had to be made up and prepared in bentos for travel. Shortly afterwards, Hebina had demanded they prepare to leave and the present crew members were saying their 'goodbyes' and on their way to the beach to return to the Sunny. All in all, the trip had been rather educational. Zoro had continued to train, though he had changed his routine and slimmed down on some sessions in an attempt to avoid the arthritis his future self had obtained. Nami had gotten up to date on her maps after a warning of all the paperwork she had had still waiting for her future self to get to. Usopp had begun practicing with weapons other than his Kuro Kabato, as well as training in strength alongside Zoro, (though at a smaller and slower pace). Chopper had received a few tips on medicines and recovery procedures for each crewmember that his future self had found to work the best for certain wounds, as well as forewarning of Zoro's next few fatal wounds and how best to treat them to avoid a few issues he himself had had. The second Chopper was back on the Sunny he had run to the infirmary crying, yelling at Zoro to take care of himself while simultaneously preparing his medicines and equipment for the next injury. Robin was gifted the book on Devil Fruits that she had desired, containing information on all the Devil Fruits, both natural and artificial, as well as the users and abilities known. Franky chatted to himself about ships and construction and was given the tip to get in touch with Iceburg, his future self claiming, 'You never know what might happen.' Sanji himself had received a few recipes, all created by his future self, and had taken to preparing one each day and enjoying the small groans of joy his food got out of his nakama. It was the sad realisation that the crew had come to discover that whilst their family, both personal and as comrades, had expanded to include wives, husbands, and children, along the way they had lost their skeletal friend. Brooke had taken the news with a smile, saying he was old anyway and he was bound to pass away first, but the crew had all been a little saddened at the revelation and declared with a new resolve to protect each other.

Glancing down into his pot, Sanji smiled sadly, wondering how the future crewmembers dealt with the lack of their perverted skeleton asking to see panties of beautiful women. Chuckling softly, Sanji decided that he would simply have to take it upon himself to take up the task. Not that he minded seeing the panties of beauties. Thinking about it made the chef's nosebleed as the cry of "MELLORINE~!" could be heard throughout the ship.

…

"What's he done now?" Usopp mumbled, looking towards his fishing companion. Chopper simply shrugged, concentrating on his fishing yet still wanting to placate the marksman with a response. To be honest with himself, Chopper wasn't really listening to the snipper; instead, he was worrying about the future Luffy and his crew. They had no way of knowing if the crew would be alright, if they got off the island or if they were captured by the Marines, only this time with no way of contacting the present crewmembers. Chopper sighed softly, lowering his fishing rod and searching the deck for Robin. Seeing her reading in the shade of an umbrella on a deck, the youngest crewmember jumped off his perch, unintentionally ignoring Usopp's calls for him, and made his way over to the archaeologist. Robin was smart, she'd know what to do.  
"Robin, do you think they're okay?" Robin glanced up from her book, placing a bookmark on her page and closing it before subconsciously stroking the back cover. She didn't need to ask who the doctor was referring too, everyone had been a little distant during the days, when Sanji didn't connect everyone through food. Everyone was wondering the same thing, and the silence coming from the people who could overhear their conversation proved to the observant woman that everyone wanted to hear her say everything was fine.  
"I don't know Chopper-san. But knowing our crew like I do, I'd say everyone is fine and sailing the Grand Line again."

"But what if the Marines caught them? And Hebina-san said she wasn't going to contact us again because we'd done enough and it would be bad and-"  
"Calm down, Chopper-san. But do you really think they'd get caught so easily when Luffy-san had specifically said they were going to set sail?" A sly smile forming on her face as she knew the answer the eavesdropping crewmembers would come to. "I don't think you should worry." Reopening her book, she prepared herself to read again, waiting a moment to make sure Chopper had no more questions.

After he seemed to give himself a decisive nod, he turned to walk away and Robin continued her reading.

"Oi!" Zoro grunted, all eyes on deck turning to him as he lifted a folded newspaper slightly, and glaring at the sky for the carrier bird. After noticing the distinct lack of any life, Zoro's glare quickly faded to a look of absolute confusion, before he trained his lone eye back onto the newspaper in his hands, unfolding it and reading the front page. The crew watched as his eye widened comically before he looked up at everyone.  
"Ah, I know what happened to them." He said simply, his voice carrying across the entire deck. He held the newspaper up slightly as the crew hurried over to them, eyeing the front page. Bold black letters exclaimed "STRAWHAT CREW RETURNS!" The black and white image showing off an ecstatic looking Luffy jumping through the air with a fist raised, the Thousand Sunny in the background, moored at the dock.

"What does it say?!" Chopper begged, tears filling his eyes.

"Monkey D. Luffy and his crew have set sail to the Grand Line after spending fifteen years on Kraken Island with his crew. After thwarting the Marine's plans of a public execution, the crew escaped the Island and have returned to their Pirating nature. The crew are highly wanted and civilians are implored to contact Marine officials should they come into contact with the crewmembers." Zoro lowered the paper, his voice dying off after the small paragraph beneath the picture.  
"They made it…" Nami whispered, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Of course we did!" Luffy cried, grinning widely and fist pumping the sky, similar to the image in the newspaper.

"Thank you Hebina-sis." Franky said softly with a small smile on his face.

"LADIES! You're beautiful dinner has been served! Oi, shitheads, get in here and eat." Sanji completely missed the mood of his nakama as he announced dinner before disappearing again into the galley.

Upon entrance, Zoro handed Sanji the newspaper, slamming it into the man's hand.

"Sanji. Can you hang that up in the galley?" Luffy asked politely, although he spoke in a way that left no argument. The chef simply looked at the newspaper in his hand, then back to the captain before looking back to the newspaper and unfolding it. A large grin formed on his face as he nodded his compliance and placed it on the bench to prepare for later.

The soft, neat script written beneath the article was what gained the chef's attention the most, but which had gone unnoticed by his crewmates.

"_Finally, we're back on the seas. I've never felt more at home, or more safe, than I do on this beautiful ship. Happy sailing~! With love, the future Queen of the Pirates."_

**...**

**Terrible ending, but I was stumped. Hope it was enjoyable, and a massive thank you to everyone who stuck with it till the end.**


End file.
